Bentodi (Shivamogga)
The caller decease of a 20-year-old aft a fibre coracle capsized successful the backwaters of Chakra dam adjacent Kattinahole colony successful Sampekatte (Hosur) gram panchayat, Hosanagara taluk of Shivamogga territory successful Karnataka, highlights the difficulties that residents of Bentodi village, surrounded by backwaters, face.
On September 13, Poornesh, a nonmigratory of Kattinahole, was among 3 persons who were connected the mode to Bentoti by crossing the backwaters propelling a coracle. At 1 point, they mislaid equilibrium and fell disconnected the coracle, according to the section people.
Poornesh went missing portion 2 others survived. His assemblage was retrieved from the waters the adjacent time with the assistance of adept swimmers from Udupi. His aged parents – Manjula and Krishnappa, who enactment arsenic agricuture labourers – mislaid their lone lad successful the tragedy.
The villagers blamed the authorities of Karnataka for the death, arsenic the incidental occurred owed to the deficiency of connectivity to Bentodi, a hamlet of 4 families.
“We person been surviving present for ages. Earlier, erstwhile a watercourse was flowing successful betwixt Bentodi and Kattinahole, we had a footbridge to cross. However, successful the 1970s, the Chakra dam was built crossed the stream. During the rainy season, the backwater submerges the roadworthy and separates america from the neighbouring villages,” says Raju, a nonmigratory of Bentodi.
Plight of schoolchildren
The families, belonging to the Adi Karnataka caste, a Scheduled Caste, person nary onshore successful their name. They person cultivated half-an-acre to one-acre pieces of onshore successful the gomala, and they are hoping that the authorities volition assistance it to them 1 day. As the output from the onshore is low, they enactment arsenic labourers successful farms successful the neighbouring villages, crossing the backwater.
Each household has got 1 coracle, which costs anyplace betwixt ₹12,000 and ₹16,000. Six children – Nireeksha, Deeksha, Manjunath, Sharanya, Nayana and Nandan – transverse the backwater by coracle each time to scope their schools located astatine Kattinahole and Sampekatte.
Following the caller decease of Poornesh, the parents are disquieted astir the information of their children. At the parents’ insistence, the children are staying successful their relatives’ location astatine Kattinahole. Ganapathi, a nonmigratory of Kattinahole, told The Hindu that helium had sometimes seen children transverse the waters by propelling a coracle.
“They person learnt however to propel a coracle. However, it is scary to spot children run the coracle. For their safety, the authorities should physique a bridge,” helium said.
Demand for bridge
D.K. Sathyanarayana Bhat, a subordinate of Sampekatte Gram Panchayat, who represents the affected village, said that helium had submitted appeals to officers and elected representatives aggregate times. Tirthahalli MLA and erstwhile curate Araga Jnanendra visited the colony aft the incident.
Narendra Kumar, enforcement serviceman of Hosangara taluk panchayat, stated that helium had inspected a hanging span astatine Kanike successful Hosanagara taluk, which had go defunct. The aforesaid could beryllium shifted for the payment of Bentodi, and helium would taxable a study to the officers acrophobic successful this regard.
